"We hope to end the year with a production of about 65,000 tonnes of copper cathodes," the company's finance director Tarun Jain told Reuters in an interview.

Sterlite is India's leading telecommunications cable maker and copper producer. It also has a small presence in the aluminium sector.

The firm's output was lower in 1997-98 as its 100,000 tonne-per-annum copper smelter in southern India started commercial production only in April 1998, the Sterlite finance director said. Sterlite's copper output in 1999/2000 is seen higher at about 85,000-90,000 tonnes, he added.

A local court this week extended experimental operations at the smelter "until further orders" and set the next hearing for April 28.

The smelter, which was ordered closed on November 23 by the Madras High Court on environmental grounds, wasallowed to reopen on an "experimental basis" for two months from December 26. Jain said the company was on track to expand the copper smelter's capacity to 150,000 tonnes from 100,000."We have mentioned earlier that the expansion will be completed in the next two years and we stick to it," he said.

In Friday afternoon trade, Sterlite shares were down 2.50 rupees at 155.0 rupees in volumes of 175,150. Commenting on the global depressed treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), Jain said he saw room for price improvement."They are at a very low level. We believe that things can only improve from here. If the price goes down beyond a certain point, smelting capacity will come down," finance director Tarun Jain said. TC/RC charges refer to the fee charged by smelters to refine copper concentrates produced by miners into exchange-deliverable copper cathodes. Sterlite purchases its copper concentrates from Australia, Chile and other countries.